Laying Low
by StreamMik
Summary: Someone or something is targeting Academy City's level 5s. Misaka Mikoto is on the run, looking for somewhere to hide, when she bumps into none other than Kamijou Touma. No one would expect her to be laying low in a certain boy's dorm right? T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Yup as you probably guessed I don't own the To Aru series…But I hope you enjoy this fanfic of mine.**

"Sigh…Such misfortune" mumbled a certain high school boy as he scratched his head.

This certain high school boy was currently in his dorm, which was a pretty common occurrence for a student of Academy City. However in this dorm in particular there was currently something that shouldn't normally be there.

"hey!...I can hear you, I'm right here you know! Furthermore, why is that the first thing that comes to your mind in this situation?!"

His name was Kamijou Touma and aside from a strange power in his right hand, he was your average high school boy, even a level 0 by academy city standards. As for the something…or rather the someone that was the source of this disturbance was none other than the #3 ranked esper in the entire academy city…Misaka Mikoto the railgun.

He looked at the girl sitting at the kotatsu in his room and moved over to position himself opposite her. He looked at her with a serious expression "well we're here biri biri…so let's hear it."

"ugh…" she turned her attention to the table and her voice got softer "where should I start…"

-1 hour earlier-

"Ugh…" She slammed her fist on the defenseless vending machine she would usually abuse for free drinks.

"_What the hell am I going to do? This situation is worse than I thought"_

She slid down to the ground with her back to the vending machine and her face in her hands. "*Sigh*…at this rate-"

"…huh?..uh Misaka is that you?"

(great now I'm hearing things too) she mumbled into her hands without moving them.

"Ah…no…"

"!" She moved her hands and was startled by how close he was to her, hitting her head on the vending machine. "ow..ow..ow. w-wh-why are you so close to me and w-w-what are you doing here?!" she asked with a slight blush and rubbing her head.

He scratched the back of his head. He had stooped down next to her and his face was just a couple of inches from hers. "well…I noticed you on the ground, and I normally walk this way to get home. What're you doing out here? You'll catch a cold if you're not careful" he offered his hand to help her up.

"I'll be fine!" she dusted herself off "In any case I don't have time for this" she responded scanning her environment nervously. (I need to get out of here…before they-)

"huh? Who're you running from?" he asked, following her movements and checking the area "we're the only ones here…wait, is it that crazy roommate of yours?" he took a step back and raised his guard.

"No!" a few sparks formed from her bangs "..and what's with that crazy defense stance?" "_has Kuroko already become a repellent to scare away the opposite sex?!"_

"oh..good"

She bit her lip nervously while still checking her surroundings "Anyway I have to get going"

"_Hmm…biribiri really looks worried about something." _"oi…what's the matter biribiri?" you look like something's bothering you"

"my name is Misaka Mikoto!" she replied with sparks coming from her bangs. "And it isn't really any of your business anyway"

"So something is troubling you…"

"arrggh!" she shook her head "I can't talk here…I need to find somewhere to hide nearby. Do you know somewhere I can hide for a bit?"

"_Huh?…what could be scaring her so badly?" "_somewhere to hide huh?...I might have somewhere yea"

"good, show me"

"w-w-wait wait, w-w-what is this?!"

"huh?...it's my dorm" he responded opening the door.

"I can tell that!" she was blushing slightly "_but what is with this sudden development?!…surely inviting a girl into your dorm room alone is a big thing"_

Truthfully, she didn't know the half of it.

" are you coming in?" he held the door open and she reluctantly removed her shoes and entered.

"you seem awfully calm with this, do you usually have girls in your dorm room?" she sneered

"*Sigh*…you don't know the half of it" he packed his stuff away neatly and motioned her to the kotatsu in what could be called his living room/bedroom area.

"_eh?!...what does he mean by that?" _she seriously pondered what he meant but decided to let it go, thinking she may not like the answer.

Normally this somewhat harmless situation of a boy inviting a girl into his dorm would not be a problem, especially if that boy lived alone. However this was not the case for Kamijou Touma. There was a certain freeloader and her calico cat that stayed with him, and under normal circumstances, this somewhat harmless act would've erupted into one of those comedic (but painful for him) scenes that one should only find in manga/anime. Now Kamijou Touma would never say he was fortunate, out of fear of challenging the universe, but this time he was thankful. The comedic but painful situation would be avoided today, some might say he was lucky but he viewed it differently.

"_Just when I thought I'd have some time to myself while index is back in Europe having her robes repaired" _he looked over at the #3 ranked esper sitting at his kotatsu. "_But something big seems to be troubling her" _

"*Sigh*…Such misfortune.."

-Present Time-

"ugh…where should I start" her expression was a serious one.

"what's going on?" obviously this was something big.

"I'm not too sure of the details…but someone or something is after me or rather…all the level 5s"

"huh?...after…the level 5s?"

She nodded "I can't say for the others, but two days ago Tokiwadai received a threatening message from an unknown source.."

"are you sure it's not just a rival school, or a prank from some low level gang?" a gang like skill-out came to mind. "either way you guys are the strongest, a little threat shouldn't bug you"

Mikoto sighed " true…but Shokuhou was attacked.."

"Shokuhou?" he tried recalling the name.

"the other level 5 from my school, she uses mental out…an annoying pain but the strongest telepath in the city. She was attacked and is currently being treated"

"oh…I remember her"

"it seems she'll survive but she can't recall anything about the attack or the attacker" "The higher ups for the school called me in and told me I should stay put until they could find out more, but when I returned to my room" she paused looking down at the table "someone had been there" "It was like someone had been searching for something and they left in a hurry…after that I just left"

"If this person had access to your room like that.."

She shook her head to get rid of the thought. "I needed to get out of there…but I'm not even sure what to do now or where to start looking in the first place. I've checked the network but there has been no sign of anything" she sighed. "So I decided I should just hide until I can get a hold of everything"

"Where are you going to hide? "

"*sigh*…I'm not sure yet…I could always stay at a random hotel, but they could probably even track me there…Argh!" she slammed her fist onto the table, then covered her head with her arms similar to how a student sleeping in class would.

"does anyone know where you are now?"

"I left Kuroko a message on her phone but I didn't say where I was or where I'm going" she mumbled without looking up.

"hmm…So if I have this correctly, there is someone out to get the level 5s but no one has any leads yet? And they're obviously a threat because they managed to attack one of you huh…"

She nodded with her head still down on the table.

"that really isn't a lot to work with…but I might have an idea to help you lay low for a bit" he said looking at her head on the desk.

"Really?!" her head shot up "where?"

"yea…why not stay here?"

"eh?..."

He shrugged "You said it yourself, staying at some random hotel may make it easier for the person to find you, It should be harder for them if it is a random dorm room right?...uh Misaka?"

She shot a bolt of lightning at him but he reflexively negated it with his right hand.

"Woah! What was that for?!"

Her head was down so her hair covered her face and she was trembling slightly "w-w-what is with that suggestion?!" she looked up at him with a visible blush on her face "_J-just the two of us h-here?_ " "s-stop joking" she laughed a bit nervously.

"I'm serious" his expression didn't change "I mean…unless you know someone else you can stay by?"

"_What the hell?! H-h-he's serious?! And he suggested it so calmly_"

"uh…earth to biribiri?"

"w-wha?..."she was obviously flustered.

"I'm saying if you really need a place to hide, you can stay here for a bit, or if there is anyone else you know?"

"_Could that really work? No! wait…I have Uiharu and Saten!...but I probably shouldn't get them mixed up in this…and the truth is I'd feel safer with…" _she blushed even more at her realization "_aagh" _she looked around nervously "I..I.." "_what do I do?! What do I do?! Alone here with him…and why the hell is he so calm about this!" _

"are you feeling ok Misaka? You've gotten so quiet and your face is red…do you have a fever?" he looked out his balcony window then over to a nearby clock. "Oh wow it's already this late? Then it's settled, you're definitely staying here tonight" he started to get up "you can't head out if you're not 100%"

"…eh?!"

* * *

**Author's note: So here it is my very first (published) fanfic. What do you think guys and girls? Liking it so far? Please feel free to comment and tell me what you think...also if you'd like to read more. I know it isn't much but this is just the intro chapter to help me get a feel for it and to ensure i'm on the right track. I already have a good idea of where I want to go with the story, so once you like (or you're just curious for the rest) i'll be happy to dish out more, longer, chapters. ****I am also open to any suggestions or things you would like to see in a story like this (once I can fit it in I will be happy to and will of course give credit).** This is my first time writing so constructive criticism would be very helpful and appreciated. Much thanks in advance. 

**Heads up: This story shouldn't be very action packed and will be more focused on ToumaxMikoto with other characters appearing. However should the story go well, I would like to follow it up with a more action packed sequel. Lets see how it goes.**

**Shout out: I must give a shout out to the author 61wisampa. They were my biggest inspiration to actually write and put up this fanfic, I am a fan of the work and you should definitely stop what you're doing and go check them out. My favourite being "A Certain game of 20 questions"**

**Long A/N but I promise the rest will be short. Again hope you enjoy **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the 'To Aru' series but I'm fine with that. I hope you can enjoy this fanfic just as much.**

"…eh?!" Misaka Mikoto was frozen, which was weird with how warm her cheeks felt. "_h-h-he just demanded I stay here tonight?, w-wwait! that's too sudden, I-it would just be the two of us…alone. Wait! Could it be that he- No! Mikoto! He isn't that kind of guy…or is he? Aaaghh" _She shook her head trying, but failing, to clear her jumbled thoughts. Misaka Mikoto was gone, she was just about glowing now and she was sure she would feint.

"Here" Kamijou put a glass of water down in front of her "wow biribiri you look a lot worse than I thought, It's probably cause you were running around and sitting on the ground earlier you know"

"…_fever?!..running around?!..what is he even talking about?" _She had been so caught up with her thoughts at this point she really had no idea what it was he was talking about.

"Hello?" he waved his hand in front of her dazed face, snapping her out of it.

She shook her head "uh..uh..bathroom" she mumbled putting on a nervous smile. "_Bathroom?!,…ugh, I really need to kill myself now" _

"uh…bathroom…right, the door down the hall on your left, can't miss it" he motioned with his thumb over his shoulder.

"heh..heh" she bowed slightly and got up to leave.

"oh, hold up" Kamijou moved over to a nearby drawer and tumbled through it. "ah! Here we go" he came back to Mikoto with a towel in hand. "Here you go, you can take a shower too, and I'll make us something to eat, something with somen is fine right? I got some on sale at the convenience store" there was a noticeable sparkle in his eye. He started to head in the direction of the kitchen but Mikoto hadn't moved from her spot with the towel in her hand.

"n-now he w-wants me to _ss-shower?!...that means I would be… with him in the next room" _her face was red again and she stared down at her feet.

"Everything alright Biribiri?" he looked across from the kitchen. "You're all quiet all of a sudden…" "_hmm…this thing must really be bothering her" _

"_Is this entire situation really not bothering him? Or is he just acting calm?…w-well in that case two can play that game" _she nodded to herself"_I'll just act calm too" "_heh..heh, it's nothing, I'll go wash-" she took two steps and froze again. She realized, belatedly, she was missing something important "_Clothes!..I-I don't have anything with me to change in to…I-I need to go buy something? I can't exactly stay in these…"_

"What's the matter?"

Her head was bent and her voice became very soft "clo..(clothes)"

"huh?...clo?"

"Clothes! Dammit! I-I don't have anything to..wear" her face was red again and she was looking away from him. "I'll just go and buy-"

"Right…" he remembered she had only had her school bag and the situation really wasn't planned. " hold on" he moved back to another drawer and fumbled through it.

"_huh?_"

"here you go, it might be a bit big but it could work for now" he came back with one of his usual, blue and white, T-shirts neatly folded in his hand.

"_you've got to be kidding me" "_uh..?"

He placed it in her hand over the towel "it should fit right?"

"_That isn't the issue! I refuse to believe he doesn't see the situation…it has to be deliberate!" _she shot a bolt at him but as usual he negated it _"_Is this some kind of joke?!"

"Oi! Watch it! Don't get all biribiri in here or you'll break something and Kamijou-san's luck will officially reach max points with no electrical appliances for a week!" he held up his hand defensively with slight tears in his eyes.

"Don't give me that! What the hell is with this set up?!" More sparks were visible from her bangs as she held up the shirt and towel"

What Mikoto didn't know was, this was the same set up the nun called Index used. So for Kamijou Touma he really didn't think much about it.

"What?! You don't like the shirt? You can't exactly stay in your uniform and you can't go out and buy anything now. Do you hate my fashion sense that badly? You refuse to be associated with it?"

"t-that isn't the issue!" she was about to say more but they were interrupted by the smell, of whatever Kamijou was preparing, burning.

"Ahhh!" he turned away from her and started doing his best to save the food.

"hmph" she sighed and headed off to the bathroom.

"Oh, the hot water takes a while to come on so be careful" he called from the kitchen.

"You better not even think of peeking!" she shouted back before entering and closing the door behind her. "_Honestly!" _she leaned against the door. "_knowing him, he probably isn't thinking much about it, and is just being his usual nice self" _she looked down at his shirt in her hands and the image of her in only his shirt doing a suggestive pose popped into her head. Her face was almost glowing again so she shook her head trying to get rid of her thoughts. "_Stupid Touma_"

**-15 to 20 minutes later-**

"_You can do this! Just open the door, what are you even worried about?" _Mikoto had showered and was now changed, into Kamijou's shirt, however she couldn't seem to leave. She looked over at the mirror again "_you're freaking out over nothing, and you can't exactly stay in here all night…or-no! come on!" _she grabbed the doorknob and forcefully opened the door.

*Blam*

"Ow-ow-ow-ow" Kamijou stood there rubbing his nose with more tears in his eyes.

Mikoto had slammed the door into Kamijou's nose "ah! Sorry sorry…I didn't-"

"It's fine, it's….fine.." he trailed off. "w-_wow…she-she looks really…cute right now" _he wasn't aware of it but Kamijou was just about staring at her now and he was blushing slightly. It may have been how she looked in his shirt, how her skin seemed softer right out of the bath, her still slightly wet hair or that rare timid side of hers with the slight blush she would sometimes show, he never said it out loud but he always thought it was cute when she was like that, whatever it was, it caught him off guard. He gulped "_I-Is she only wearing my shirt?"_

"What is it?" she asked conscious of his gaze and tugged at the shirt to pull it down a little.

"uh…um….n-nothing" he blushed a bit more seeing that "um…t-the food is on the counter…h-help yourself , I'm going to shower" he watched her turn and head over to her bag to pack away her clothes and when she stooped down the shirt blew up a little revealing.. "(ah…pants)" he mumbled to himself "_how very much like her_" He entered the bath and locked the door. "_What was with that reaction just now though?...I've seen Index like that before, heck even worse without a problem…hmm" _

**-10 to 15 minutes later-**

Kamijou dried his hair off and sat opposite Mikoto with a bowl of noodles, and he noticed she had already started eating. Kamijou had left the tv on before heading to shower so a random drama was on but neither of them were really paying attention to it. "itadakimasu" he said before beginning to eat.

"Say, where'd you get this?" Mikoto asked playing with some of the noodles in her bowl.

"Hmm? The noodles?" he looked up from his bowl.

"No, the entire thing"

"Ah, I made it; I don't think the store sells it cooked"

"eh?..You actually made this? Wow"

"…I understand! Kamijou Touma's humble cooking and abode may not be to the standards of an ojou-sama like yourself, but please bear with it for now" he bowed his head.

"I-it's not that you idiot! it's…" her voice got softer "actually pretty good.." she ate some more "I didn't realize guys could cook like this"

"Isn't that sexist?" he asked deadpanned before eating some more of his noodles "in any case, I'm glad you like it. Due to some events I've actually become pretty good with somen, though thanks to those same events I haven't used it in a while"

"_It really is good, who knew he could cook" _she finished up the last of her noodles. "Well as thanks for the meal, the dishes are on me, I insist!" she smiled giving him a thumbs up.

"r-really?" he almost choked " Haha thanks Misaka, and you're most welcome…You do know how to wash dishes right?" he smirked

"ha ha ha, very funny. I can just use my railgun if it gets too difficult then" she winked and grinned, before getting up to head to the kitchen.

"May Kami protect my dishes and sink" he clasped his hands and bowed his head. She stuck her tongue out at him for that.

"_This is actually really nice…almost…like a date even?…no" _she shook her head "_thinking like that will just confuse things more. If only that idiot wasn't so hard to read all the time"_

"_Hmm this is actually really nice, and she even offered to handle the dishes. You know she isn't half-bad when she isn't trying to zap me" _he looked over at her in the kitchen "_who knew she could be this nice, she really confuses me sometimes."_

"Here you go" Mikoto came back with glasses of drink for the both of them, and sat opposite him again.

He thanked her and took a sip "So, about this person…where should we start?"

"huh? Oh.." her voice got soft and she looked down at the table "y-you don't have to get mixed up in this you know" "_I know I was the one to ask for help…but I shouldn't be dragging him into trouble again, especially after everything he's been through" "_I'm grateful but-"

He raised his hand to interrupt her and smiled "now come on, you promised me a little while ago, I wouldn't have to take everything on alone anymore, and you said you'd be there to help me through it remember?"

"I…" she could feel herself blushing.

"Well, I've actually thought about that a lot since then and I've decided, from now on the same goes for you, I'll be here to help you too ok? It's only fair" he gave her one of the gentle smiles she loved so much.

She blushed heavily now and all she could do was nod trying to hide her face from him. He reached across and rubbed her head like he did during the incident with the sisters. "_Honestly…he always does this" _she looked back at him "_Does he even think about what he's saying and the effect it has? I know he probably doesn't mean it like that…yet I still feel this way. He's the type that would say that to any girl I suppose…or is it really just for me?" _

"So, I may have an idea" he interrupted her thoughts bringing her attention back to him. "Do you remember what was in the message sent to your school?"

She shook her head "I never got a chance to see it, they just called Shokuhou and I in, they told us they received a strange message and that we should remain on campus until instructed otherwise, shortly after that she was attacked"

"Hmm, well in any case if this person or persons or whatever is after the level 5s specifically then we should probably check with the others right? It could be they're just targeting your school" he looked like he was thinking about something "and either way, we should have a better idea of how to start from there"

"nh…true" Mikoto answered offhandedly, the truth was she was still thinking about what he had said not too long ago. "How are we going to do that though, none of us are really that familiar with each other and they aren't exactly the friendliest of people" Images of Accelerator the #1 and Mugino Shizuri the #4 came to mind. *sigh* "_He just casually moves on like it's nothing" _she was resting her elbow on the table and her head in her hand "_what does he really think of me?" _

"Actually.." he started searching for something in his pocket.

Kamijou pulled out his, pretty standard looking, cellphone and started going through it but what Mikoto noticed was the Gekota strap hanging from his phone. She smiled to herself; it was a rare Gekota strap she received when they signed up for the pair contract cellphone antenna service. She had numerous other straps already but that was the only one of that kind and she decided to give it to him. It was special to her and he always kept it with him, even after WW3 when she returned it, he had put it back on right away "_that has to count for something right?" _she smiled again.

"Ah here it is" he dialed a number and put the phone on speaker, resting it in the middle of the table.

"Who're you calling?" Mikoto looked confused.

"Helllloooo?! Says Misaka as Misaka answers the phone"

"Huh?!"

"Uh…hello, um is this? Accelerator?"

"He's being mean and won't let me use the remote says Misa-ahhh!" there was some scuffling on the other end of the phone before someone else took over.

"Hello? Who is this?" It was the raspy voice of the #1 Accelerator.

"_How does this idiot have his number? And was that a sister I heard just now?!" _Mikoto was a bit confused but decided not to say anything.

"Hello, I'm not sure if you remember me but it's Kamijou Touma, sorry to bother you so late-"

"Tch, do you realize what time it is? What do you want? Don't tell me the world is coming to an end again"

(Why am I now associated with the end of the world? That's an unfair level of misfortune) Kamijou mumbled to himself " ah…no" he chuckled nervously "Actually I was calling to see, um if you received any strange messages, or letters?"

"Is this a joke?! A letter? What the hell does it matter?"

"It seems someone attacked one of the level 5s and-"

"Someone threatened us and the #5 was attacked" Mikoto interrupted

"Who's that?! The railgun girl? You two are pretty bold but I had a feeling it was something like that, I guess it can't be helped with all the hormones at this age, tch…don't call people while you're doing that stuff"

"huh? Wha?! Something like what-no! shut up!" Mikoto was red again and even Kamijou was blushing a little, he scratched the back of his head saying it was nothing like that. "T-This is serious! So you weren't contacted or anything?"

"Tch, no, I haven't gotten any strange letter or anything lik-" he was interrupted by the previous voice over the phone.

"Oh that reminds me, I have this for you says Misaka as Misaka belatedly remembers the note she found for you-ow-ow-ow stop karate chopping my head says Misaka as Misaka cries out!"

"How long did you have this brat?!"

"Misaka found it in her pocket this morning says Misaka as Misaka answers honestly, ow-ow-ow"

"Hold on" they could hear an envelope being opened and after a slight pause he returned " tch, seems like this is your letter"

Mikoto and Touma galanced at each other.

"Who the hell even sends fucking threat letters?! And hey you! You just found this in your pocket?"

"Yes says Misaka as Misaka nods, come to think of it, how did it get there I wonder"

"tch, count on you to be oblivious, anyway, so what's the big deal with this?" he turned his attention back to Kamijou and Mikoto.

"Well we don't have any idea who might be behind it or anything, but whoever it is did manage to attack and beat the #5 right? So it must be serious" replied Kamijou "we figured if we contacted the other level 5s we might be able to get a better idea of the situation or who might be behind it."

"It's a coward if you ask me, if he really wanted to attack, then he should just do it, all of this is just a waste of time, if the bastard comes at me, I'll deal with him"

"hmm…but to go after the level 5s and declare it, the person must feel confident, they may have ways of countering your powers" Kamijou looked up at Mikoto.

"What did the letter say?" she asked

"tch, some shit about, to the great number #1 of Academy City, yours is not true power, I shall crush your existence, and other nonsense…hmm"

"What is it?"

"Maybe this could be a tracking device…" they heard paper being crushed "just feels like paper, just to be sure" they heard an electronic *beep* followed by a massive gust of wind "hmph, strange…it wasn't a bomb either"

Kamijou looked worried "_Could it be someone from the magic side? Who could it be though? No one should be targeting Academy City, well…none of the organizations that is…_"

Mikoto noticed his expression but decided not to say anything "This is strange, but the higher ups should know and will probably be looking in to it"

"Ha!, both you and I know, those bastards at the top won't move unless it directly affects them." She couldn't deny that fact. "Sitting around and chatting about it won't get us anywhere, seems like I'll have to do some digging but the fucker could attack for all I care, it would make my job easier"

"Let us know if you find anything and we'll see what we can do too" Kamijou was looking over at Mikoto again and she nodded.

"tch, yea yea" Accelerator responded sounding annoyed.

"And, maybe you should find somewhere to stay hidden for a bit, we still don't have a lot of information to work with"

"Save your worrying for someone who cares, I can handle myself"

"I know" Kamijou responded "but there is still Last Order"

"tch" and with that the line disconnected.

Kamijou sat back and sighed. "Well it's a start" he looked up at Mikoto who was currently poking at the Gekota figure on the strap with her index finger.

"Well at least we know, It's not just Tokiwadai and it looks like all the level 5s, not that it's good news" she sighed. "Do you have any of the other level 5s numbers?" she half joked.

"Well other than yours, no" he looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder if it really is just the level 5s, though it seems that way" "_It does sound like the magic side may have to something to do with this, maybe I should check with Tsuchimikado_"

"Is something the matter? You seemed worried about something just now" she stopped playing with the doll, yawned and quickly covered her mouth a bit surprised.

He smiled to himself "ah…It's nothing, furthermore you look tired" he looked over at his clock "and it's really late" he started to get up "I have a new toothbrush somewhere here you can have, to use before bed"

"That's fine; I actually walk around with some, necessities in my bag-w-wait! Bed?!" she sat up suddenly more alert "_Bed?! What does he mean by that?" _she had only noticed one bed in here, and it was his dorm, there weren't even any furniture like chairs around. "_I could sleep on the floor I suppose but he just spoke to me about bed, he can't mean me sleeping in the bed…w-w-with him?! Can he?_" her face was red again and you could imagine the kind of scenes floating into her head.

"Uh yea…you're tired right? And we can't stay up all night" he started to yawn. "In any case I'll go first, so you can make yourself comfortable while you wait" he motioned with his chin to the bed opposite her.

"…" her mind went blank, well no, rather her mind was filed with images of the two of them on the bed some of those images even had some rather suggestive positions. She shook her head "_T-this is too sudden..I-I'm not ready for t-t-that sort of thing, even if he doesn't…or-or we don't…a random boy and girl in the same bed is just.._" she was blushing again.

Sometime during all of her panicking Kamijou had returned. "Hey, have you even moved from that spot? Anyway the bathroom is free now" he moved over to a cupboard and started fumbling through it. "_will I never escape the tub? Such misfortune_" he sighed "_now where are the extra blankets and pillow?_"

Mikoto had rushed off to the bathroom to try and clear her thoughts. She finished her preparations for 'bed' and was now standing in front of the mirror. "_So what now? I-if it comes to that" _she felt so childish looking at how much she was blushing just thinking about it. "Do I…maybe-_No! I'll zap him, I'll definitely zap him if he tries anything funny" _she nodded at her reflection but her cheeks were still very much red.

Soon after Mikoto returned and Kamijou was now flicking through the channels of the tv lazily stopping when he noticed her come in. He looked up at her. "wow Biribiri you sure took forever in there"

"I didn't!" she was doing her best to keep calm " and I'm sorry but I've decided I'm not going to do it!" she was still blushing.

"Do what Biribiri?" he got up with his pillows and blankets in hand, yawned again and started to head to his usual sleeping place. "Well the bed is all yours, night night Biribiri"

"uh..huh? The bed is mine?...where are you going?" she was confused now. If he said the bed was hers, where was he going to sleep?

"The tub, believe it or not I've done it before, and it's not so bad" he started to leave again.

"b-but wait, this is your dorm, I-I can't kick you out of your own bed." She wasn't sure what the alternative was going to be but she still didn't feel right about it.

"hmm…that's nice of you but I can't exactly put you in the tub or the floor" he chuckled and started to walk but she grabbed his arm.

"Well then…w-would you stay out here with me?" she looked up at him

"_eh?!_" "Uh…huh?..what exactly are you saying Misaka?" Kamijou was confused now "Y-you want me to stay, with you?"

"_what the hell am I saying?!" "_I-No, w-what, y-y-you see what I-I mean is, out-out here, not-not anything like that. It's just…I'd feel safer, with you nearby, i-is all" her voice trailed off and she laughed nervously.

"ah…it's just the next room…but o-ok" he scratched his cheek nervously "_For a second there, I thought she meant something like…nope nope, come on Kamijou what are you thinking?!" _

"g-good" she gave a weak smile and let go of his arm and made her way to the bed and timidly sat on it.

"w-well I guess I'll be on the floor then" Kamijou moved the kotatsu and set up his blankets and pillow before turning off the lights.

Mikoto waited for him to lay down and as if reading her mind, he turned so that his back was facing her. Still being very conscious of his presence, she lay down and really began to feel just how tired she was from all the activity earlier.

"I'm just a level 0 you know, aside from my right hand, I'd be pretty useless" he said still backing her.

"heh, you're the last person I want to hear that from, you beat the #1, ended an entire war and even faced a Magic God or something like that. Heck I haven't even beaten you yet" she smiled. She may have just been thinking of a way out of her slip up earlier, but deep down she knew she meant it. (…I always feel safe with you).

"_I feel safer with you nearby huh?" _ He had never heard that from her before, but for whatever reason, it made him feel good. He couldn't help but imagine himself protecting her and remembering the battles they had been in together and he liked it. He yawned and felt himself drifting off "Good night Misaka…(I'll keep you safe)"

You couldn't see it in the dark but she was blushing again, staring up at the ceiling, what did she just hear him whisper? "…Goodnight Touma"

* * *

**Author's Note: Well here it is everyone, the second chapter. It's Mikoto's and Touma's first night together, how do you think it went? I won't speak much about the chapter, I prefer to leave it with you as is and hear your thoughts in the reviews. **

**Shout out: I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to leave a review and those that have chosen to follow and favourite the story. It is a really big motivation to read your positive comments. **

**As requested this one is a bit longer and I'm hoping the next one can be even longer than this, because who doesn't like a nice long chapter right?**

**Next time: Despite all the risks, they'll have to go do some shopping. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I doubt I'll ever own the 'To Aru' series but you can use this to kill some time while we wait for the next volume.**

* * *

"Don't FUCKING TOUCH HER!" Kamijou screamed. His entire body ached and he no longer noticed the taste of his own blood in his mouth, but none of it mattered. He focused solely on the sight before him. A mere 2 meters away was Misaka Mikoto, she wasn't alone. He couldn't quite make out the figure standing there, if asked to describe it, he would probably say 'it' looked like a physical shadow, he wasn't even sure it was human anymore. This 'thing' lifted Misaka off the ground by her throat, and she must've been unconscious because she just hung there limply.

"hahaha! What do we have here?" even the shadow's, or what he assumed was the shadow's, voice sounded inhuman. "Foolish little child…yours Is not true power!" the figure began tightening its grip around Mikoto's neck, paying no attention to Kamijou.

"Shit!" he pushed off with all his might. Despite the pain, he could clear 2 meters easily and he just needed his right fist to connect. However something pulled him back "what the?!" without realizing it two similar figures appeared behind him and held his arms back, literally pulling him back through the air. Kamijou wasted no time, when his feet touched the ground again he swung his right fist backwards to where he assumed the creature's chest would be. It vanished and he quickly turned his body to punch the other one. He felt arms grab his legs and waist "_What the hell is going on?"_ He struggled to free the restraint to his waist but instead received a solid punch to the jaw, causing him to spit out more of his blood. He sensed another punch coming so evaded it and lashed out in the direction it came from, he felt the presence vanish, only to receive a kick behind his knee, bringing him back to the ground. "No no!.." he looked up to where Mikoto was and she was starting to strain under the shadows grasp. "_Arrgh!_ _As fast as I beat one, five more pop up" _"FUCK THIS!" he pushed up, dodged a punch and punched through one of the shadows. He fought and dodged as best as he could but it didn't matter. Kamijou was beaten down and all he could do was watch on as the dark figure continued to tighten its grip until Mikoto was consumed by darkness.

"!" Kamijou sat up suddenly, he was breathing heavily and sweat covered his face "_w-what was that just now?" _he looked down at his right hand and then over at the bed nearby "_Misaka…_" he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked across to see the girl ranked #3 in the entire of academy city sleeping soundly on his bed. From the little he could see in the dark she seemed to have a slight smile on her face and the shirt, his shirt, she was wearing seemed to have hiked up to her waist sometime during the night, but she wore pants underneath so it was fine. She was also mumbling something in her sleep but he couldn't quite make it out. "_What was with that dream?" _he thought before lying back down and staring at the ceiling.

**-The Next Morning- **

"_Thankfully I was able to get some more sleep" _he looked over at Mikoto, who seemed to be avoiding his gaze "_I wonder what's the matter, she's been acting a little strange whole morning"_

Touma and Mikoto were currently on one of the buses used to move around in Academy city. Incidentally there was no school today, so their day was free and after giving it some thought earlier, they decided despite all the risks they needed to go do some shopping. If Mikoto was going to continue staying with him for now, she certainly would need some more clothes to work with.

Mikoto wore her usual Tokiwadai winter uniform minus the tan button jumper to head to the mall with Kamijou; essentially it was a white dress shirt and skirt. She was now going through her Gekota cellphone. She had turned it off out of fear of being tracked by the unknown threat, but now that they were outside and going to be moving about she figured it would be safer to check her messages. She was also actively trying to avoid his gaze. There were two reasons for this, the first being: late last night, before she had fallen asleep, she was sure she had heard him whisper something, it was not anything defining or really out of the ordinary, for him, but for whatever reason it struck her, it was different from all the things he had said before. The second being: early this morning, she had woken up before him and could now not get the image of a sleeping Touma out of her head. She knew her face had become red and she was thankful he hadn't woken up to see her staring at him. "_Aaah…I don't know what to do anymore" _she fiddled with her phone"_I'm sure he'll be thinking I'm acting strange…well it's not my fault… when he does things like that!..._" she could feel her cheeks getting red again thinking about it and she looked annoyed.

"Oi Misaka are you alright? You've been quiet all morning" he was still looking over at her.

"uh,Y-yea I'm fine" she laughed nervously, a bit startled by his sudden question. "I-I'm surprised at all the messages from Kuroko is all"

"haha..I'm sure she's just worried about her onee-sama" Kamijou chuckled "but wait!" his tone got serious "what'll you do if we bump into her today?"

"Huh?" she turned to look at him

"Well…I don't think she likes me that much" he scratched the back of his head "and you have been missing for a day"

She hadn't thought about this, she was really more worried about the attacker; however meeting Kuroko now would certainly cause trouble, more so if she was with Kamijou. "_That would certainly be a problem…I don't want to get her involved but I can't exactly explain" _she glanced at Kamijou checking his phone "_everything.." "_I know..I'll just send her a message. That should keep her busy"

"Good idea biribiri"

Slight sparks formed from her bangs and she was visibly annoyed. Truthfully she wasn't sure why the nickname bugged her, but it did "_why does he insist on that nickname!" _"Hey! How many times do-huh?!" the bus made a sudden turn sliding Mikoto into Kamijou and of course due to the positioning of his hand at that time it would seem his hand was around her and he was holding her closely.

"(aww..how cute)" "(…It's always nice to see young love)" "(Hey!...why aren't you holding me like that!)" were some of the audible whispers nearby.

"Uh…" Kamijou was surprised by the sudden turn also and he blushed a little, however he was a little slower processing the entire situation. He barely noticed the bluish sparks coming from the person beside him in time.

"ngh! Wha!..l-let go of m-me" Mikoto was blushing but she started struggling to push him off and reflexively began releasing sparks from her bangs. However for some reason he pulled her closer. "_Wha?! W-what is he doing?!"_ He then placed his free hand on her forehead "_eh?!" _Misaka's face was now an even darker shade of red with him being even closer all of a sudden and she became stiff completely forgetting about resisting.

Kamijou wasted no time and pulled Mikoto closer to him with his left hand around her and turned his right hand placing it on her forehead, to everyone looking on he was holding her even closer now, starting more audible whispers but Kamijou ignored that and whispered to her "(Oi Misaka…you have to be careful, you're hiding remember, you can't get all biribiri like that in the open)"

"_eh?!" _She relaxed a little "huh?...uh? y-ea-no" she gave a slight nod and he slowly let her go shifting down a bit so they weren't so close anymore "_That he can still so easily negate my power…" _ she looked over at him then out the window "Geez…_and he's always doing these things so suddenly…how does he expect me to react? Hmph…though I suppose he was just" _ a flashback of Kamijou whispering '_I'll keep you safe' _popped into her head "hmph!" she looked annoyed but you could clearly see she was blushing.

Shortly after Kamijou broke the silence again "So where do you think would be best?" he asked interrupting her thoughts. "There's the Seventh Mist mall but maybe one of the other underground ones may be better?"

"Uh…Seventh Mist should be fine right" Misaka replied off handedly.

"Ok…Then the next stop is ours"

**-Judgment 177****th**** Branch Office-**

"uwaaaaaah!" Kuroko slammed her head down on the desk in front of her. "My beloved oneeeeee-sama disappeared without a trace yesterday and she's nowhere to be found!, h-how can I call myself her herald and let something like this happen!" she grabbed at her head with her hands and shook it violently"I, Shirai Kuroko am ashamed of myself!"

"C-come on Shirai-san, I'm sure Misaka-san is fine" A girl with long black hair and blue eyes patted Kuroko's back, trying to calm her down. Her name was Saten Ruiko "Any luck tracking her? Uiharu?" She looked over at the girl with short hair at the computer nearby.

"Ah…no" The girl replied closing her cellphone and turning back to the computer.

"Onee-sama is not one to be beaten so easily" Kuroko sat up "…But she hasn't been herself lately" her expression got serious and she looked down at the table.

"Well it's not like this is the first time, she's done something like this right?" Saten looked to both girls "Maybe it's just one of those things she has to do on her own you know" she paused suddenly getting a mischievous grin on her face "Or maybe…"

"Maybe what?" Uiharu had turned to face the two girls.

"Hmm?" Kuroko looked over at Saten.

"Maybe it's a boy" she grinned remembering some time ago Misaka had come to her for help with baking cookies for a mystery person.

"!" Kuroko sat up… "O-o-onee-sama wouldn't…It couldn't be" she denied it shaking her head again. If her beloved Misaka Mikoto was being troubled by some ape she would know. However Kuroko froze suddenly "_wait…the last time something like this happened…there was that man!" _images of a certain boy came to her mind. Now that she thought about it, on numerous occasions for whatever reason she would find the two of them together "S-_she even supposedly l-left the country with him once" _Kuroko slammed her head on the desk again "ahhhhh!...Oneeee-saaama!"

"wha?!" "uh?" Saten and Uiharu exchanged glances "u-uh? I-I was just joking Shirai-san" Saten tried to calm her down again. "l-like you said she can handle herself, and it's a holiday! Come on lets go to the mall"

"Yea, that's a good idea Saten-san" Uiharu nodded.

"ngh…I can't have fun knowing one-sama could be out there in trouble…or worse! With that ape!" Kuroko kept her head down on the desk.

"Well it won't do any good sitting around here-"

"aaannd, who knows we might bump into Misaka-san there" Saten added nodding.

They noticed Kuroko perk up at that possibility "fine" she mumbled "let's go"

**-Seventh Mist-**

"So should we meet up here in a bit?" Kamijou asked looking down at Mikoto. They were near one of the entrances of the mall standing next to one of the electronic maps used to find the locations of the stores in the mall.

Mikoto was scanning the surrounding area "huh?...you mean split up?"

"uh..yea" he scratched at his cheek "You just need to pick up some things to wear right? I'll just wait arou-" he paused noticing her

Her eyebrow twitched and her voice was low "after saying all of that on the bus, you're just going to ditch me?!" she grabbed his wrist "you're not getting away" and with that she dragged him deeper into the mall.

**-Sometime Later- **

"Such Misfortune" Kamijou sighed. "This must be the feared girlfriend shopping experience!" Kamijou was standing in a fairly fancy looking clothes store with two bags in his left hand and one in his right he was holding over his shoulder.

"S-sh-shut up idiot!...whats that all of a sudden?" she was red and going through a clothes rack. "I-In any case what do you think of these?" she held up two T-shirts, a plain black with a simple flower print on the chest and the other was a white with a stripped design. As much as she tried to hide it she obviously favoured the black and held it slightly closer to him.

"The price is outrageous!"

"Not that!" he eyebrow twitched again but she blushed a little "w-which do you p-prefer?" "_I can use this to see what he likes.." _she thought to herself

"For a tomboy you have really girly taste- ooof" he received a punch to the gut for that. He could see she was consciously holding herself back from blasting him with a bolt of electricity.

"I do not!" she spun around backing him. She wasn't sure if she was more upset with him calling her a tomboy, which she was, or that he thought she had girly taste, which she kinda did. "Hmph!"

"The black one" he said weakly rubbing his stomach. "It's obvious you prefer that one…and you should be comfortable if you're going to wear it right?"

She turned back to him "u-uh yea" she put the other shirt down and held up the black shirt to take a look at it.

"I think it's cute you're actually into that sort of thing, the big ace of Tokiwadai, has a soft spot too" he smiled and chuckled.

"shut up" She didn't move the shirt she was holding up or attempted to hit him again, his comment annoyed her but he did just say he thought it was cute and that made her blush slightly. She spun around again to back him "I'll go change" she ran off to go pay and change into the new clothes.

**-Seventh Mist - Elsewhere- **

"Try not to be so gloomy Shirai-san" Saten sighed "I know! What are some stores that Misaka would normally go to? We could try those!"

"ngh.." was the teleporter's response. There was a visible gloomy aura of despair surrounding her.

"Come on Shirai-san, we can go for something sweet to cheer you up" Uiharu added looking over in the direction of a nearby café

"(Are you suuure that was her?)" "(I'm telling you man…that was definitely the railgun)" "(I doubt it…she would've been in that Tokiwadai uniform, they never take it off)" "(I know what I saw…I fought against her during the Daihaseisai man)"

Kuroko perked up "huh?" she immediately teleported to the two boys chatting nearby grabbing the second by his collar oozing an aura of intent "where did you see her?!

"w-w-woah!" the boys almost fell over "w-what? What are you talking about?"

"The railgun! Tokiwadai's most prestigious ace! I'm with judgment tell me now or I'll have you arrested!"

"Somehow I think that's abusing your power Shirai-san" Uiharu mumbled nearby and sighed with Saten.

**-Seventh Mist – A certain clothes store-**

"Hey Misaka are you planning to move in or something? What's with all this stuff?" Kamijou muttered half-heartedly standing next to her in the line at the cashier. Kamijou had now acquired a few bags more and was thankful he was able to use a very big one to put the rest into.

"I-I-It's not like that" she was a bit startled at his random question, even if he was just joking around the idea of her moving in with him slipped into her head and she felt her cheeks getting warm again. "_Seriously what is up with me….get a hold of yourself!...and he just keeps saying these things so casually!" _she was fighting with herself internally again but Kamijou didn't seem to notice.

"Is all this stuff really necessary though?" he eyed the large bag in his hand.

"O-of course" she had regained some composure now and turned to face him "a-and i-it isn't all for me" her voice got a lot softer and her eyes darted about nervously "I b-bought something for you too"

"huh?...for me?" Kamijou was a little shocked at that.

"yea…I-It isn't anything much, I noticed aside from your school stuff you usually wear the same blue and white shirt and" she was still fidgeting a little but her voice got softer "I-I wanted to say thanks for everything" she looked around to try and avoid his gaze.

He stood there a bit shocked and the corner of his mouth twitched into a weird smile "_what's that about the same shirt?! I just got it on sale so I bought a lot!"_ _"_uh thanks Misaka…you didn't have to-hold up! If you just bought one shirt for me then why are there still so many bags?!" Kamijou was about to continue his complaints but they were interrupted by the cashier calling them up

The cashier gave Touma a glance then turned to Mikoto addressing her in a way suggesting she was used to dealing with a lazy boyfriend too "Here you go ma'am and thank you for shopping with us today" before glaring back at Touma.

Mikoto turned to him as they were leaving the store "Quit complaining, it's the guy's job to carry the bags after all" she gave him a hard pat on his back causing him to jerk forward a bit.

"You say that, but doesn't the guy get a say?" he sighed and scanned their surroundings noticing Mikoto was doing the same

"nnh…you hungry?" Mikoto asked offhandedly seeming to completely ignore his complaining.

He looked over at her and could tell despite everything that was going on she was still very focused on her surroundings "_I can't blame her I guess…hmm maybe I should try to cheer her up somehow…but what?" _he looked over at a nearby board that gave the time along with other advertisements and as if on cue realizing the time his stomach grumbled, making it clear he desired food "haha…seems so" he scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

Mikoto giggled at that and gave a nod "fine, let's go…my treat" without even thinking about it she grabbed his free hand and led him to the food stores.

Kamijou looked down at her hand holding his, she obviously wasn't aware of it, that was his first thought. She normally wouldn't be so calm with something like this happening, was it because of the tension and focus on this potential attacker? Whatever it was Kamijou didn't feel inclined to pull away or even bring it up, it was different from the times before when she would forcibly grab his wrist and drag him somewhere. Her grip was firm but at the same time her hand was soft, warm and gentle, if Kamijou was to be completely honest with himself he liked how her hand felt holding his like this "_hmm…"_

**-Seventh Mist – Nearby-**

"Ooooooh…what do we have here nyah?" A blonde hair guy with shades and a stereotypical Hawaiian shirt gazed on the scene of Mikoto and Touma leaving the store.

"What are you looking at?" a much shorter girl dressed in maid attire, who could usually be found atop one of academy city's cleaning robots, asked standing next to him trying to follow his gaze "wait a minute…isn't that Misaka?"

They were Motoharu and Maika Tsuchimikado.

**-Seventh Mist – Food Court-**

Mikoto and Touma sat opposite each other at a table in the food court. Mikoto had belatedly realized just what she was doing for the entire walk over to the food court and had almost exploded from embarrassment. However she had somehow managed to control herself and purchased burger combos for the both of them. They now sat opposite each other while eating in awkward silence "_w-what was that?!" _ She timidly took a bite of her sandwich with her cheeks still red from before.

As expected Mikoto had almost freaked out when she realized what exactly was happening, but surprisingly she was doing really well to suppress herself or more her outbursts of electrical attacks. Kamijou was impressed that she could have this much self-control, however she was still clearly flustered by it and the awkward silence was becoming uncomfortable "Come to think of it…it was a lot like this the last time we had lunch together, only you were running from…Mitsuki-san I believe it was" he chuckled. Kamijou knew it wasn't really Unabara Mitsuki but as far as he knew Mikoto thought so, so he would leave it at that.

"u-uh yea" Mikoto looked over at him but remembering everything that happened that day didn't do much to help her current state "_furthermore…I was holding his hand for so long…yet he said nothing" _she looked back down at the table then back up at him "_c-could it be he was o-ok with it? Even today…I wonder what he thinks of it_" flashbacks of all the times they were mistaken for a couple today popped into her head "_it's like we actually are a couple on a date…but I'm probably over thinking things again" _

"How is he by the way?" Kamijou asked finishing off the last of his fries. "Does he still bother you-" Kamijou paused, it felt strange but he was actually really curious about that last question.

"No…actually, come to think of it I haven't really seen him much since then"

"oh…haha I must've actually scared him off then" Kamijou grinned with an air of accomplishment about him.

"pshhk…as if you were convincing enough" Mikoto laughed teasingly.

"I'll have you know this Kamijou Touma can be a serious boyfriend character you know" he joked back and they both started laughing "_It's nice to see you smiling again biribiri" _he smiled "Where to next Biribiri? Do you finally have everything you need?"

"huh? Nope I still have a few things left to get" she finished up her soda. It may have been her being distracted from their joking but she didn't even quarrel with him this time about the nickname.

"…you're kidding" Kamijou sulked down "such misfortune" he sighed and they got up to leave.

They hadn't gotten far before Kamijou felt a hand grab his shoulder causing him to almost instantly tense up. "Woah there Kami-yan!" it was Tsuchimikado Motoharu "what do we have here?" he wrapped his arm around Touma's neck grabbing him roughly.

Mikoto had instinctively reached for one of her arcade coins in her pocket seeing someone suddenly grab Touma but stopped, realizing they were acquaintances of some sort. Kamijou breathed a sigh of relief and pushed his friend off. "What are you doing here?" Kamijou looked over at him.

"It's the mall nyah?! More importantly" he grinned looking over at Mikoto standing near Touma "It's always like this Kami-yan, running off and keeping all the girls to yourself" he slapped him on the shoulder "what kind of friend does that nyah?"

Mikoto blushed a little but Kamijou just ignored the boy "In any case Misaka Mikoto, this worthless guy here is Tschimikaido Motoharu" he used his thumb to point out the boy off-handedly.

"wow! Theeee Misaka Mikoto?! It's a pleasure to meet you" Tschimikadio bowed before turning back to Kamijou "You're really sly Kami-yan, to be out with the #3 like this, what else have you been holding back?" he teased grinning again.

Mikoto gave a slight nervous laugh but bowed politely "it's nice to meet you too…" "_wait…Tschimikaido? Like-" _

"So it is you Misaka-san" Mikoto's thoughts were interrupted by the one known as Tschimikaido Maika walking up from behind her brother.

"huh?...Maika?" Mikoto looked a little confused "_a-are they related?" _

"huh? if it isn't Kamijou Touma" Maika paused, looked at Mikoto then back at Kamijou then back again "ohoho…Is this what I think it is? A rendezvous? That's bold Misaka" there was a sparkle in her eye.

"eh?!...wha? no-no w-wait wait" Mikoto denied a bit flustered "f-furthermore, are you two related?" she looked over at the older blonde boy in an attempt to change the subject

"She's my beloved sister I adore nyahh" Tschimikaido Motoharu responded nodding but he was interrupted by a punch to his stomach

"yes…he's my lazy brother, but that aside…to be gone for a whole day…oh my" Maika covered her mouth with her hand "To think you were like that Misaka"

"Noooo! It's not what you think!" Mikoto screamed, defeated.

Kamijou looked at the entire exchange and gave a slight nervous laugh before pausing "_wait for Tschimikaido to just show up…could it actually be someone from the magic side" _he looked over at Tschimikaido with a serious expression but he couldn't tell what the other boy was thinking, he could hardly ever.

"In any case…what are you two hiding from?" Tschimikaido grinned at the both of them "if you want to keep your love on the down low, you don't have to worry Kami-yan your secret is safe with me" he said mockingly and you could see his sister nodding beside him.

"huh?" "eh?" Mikoto and Touma looked in his direction "how do you know we're hiding?" "_So maybe he does know something…but I can't ask him in front of everyone else" _

"Well it's too obvious Kami-yan" he stroked his chin "firstly the both of you are constantly checking your surroundings and then as a couple out on a shopping date you're so tense and on edge" both he and his sister nodded in sync. "You're not convincing enough"

Touma blushed slightly and Mikoto was blushing even more, however he could not figure out if his blonde haired friend actually knew anything or was really oblivious to the situation. He would have to get him alone to be sure.

"Well we shouldn't be a bother anymore, come on!" Maika grabbed her brother's sleeve and began dragging him away before Kamijou interrupted.

"Actually there was something I needed to ask you about classes before you go" he went over and pulled his friend aside, leaving Maika to go tease Mikoto some more. "(Oi..have you heard about the threat to the level 5s?)"

Tschimikaido's face got serious and he lowered his voice "(what are you talking about Kami-yan?)" he looked pass him at the #3 currently chatting with his sister. "(A threat?)"

"(So it seems you don't know…I was thinking it might be someone from the magic side…but I don't know)" Kamijou whispered out loud more for himself.

"(I don't know what you're talking about Kami-yan, but it sounds dangerous as usual)" he grinned

"(I don't want to hear that from you, when you're usually the one dragging me into dangerous situations!)" Kamijou explained about the letter to Tokiwadai and the call to Accelerator, and Tschimikaido listened intently giving a slight nod "(So…what do you think?)"

"(It is strange…I can't say for sure, but if that bastard is looking in to it I might as well do some digging too nyahh?)" He grinned "(If I find anything I'll let you know)" he gave him a tap on the shoulder then looked over to his sister "Maika, let's go" the short maid-clad girl said bye to Mikoto and shortly after they left headed in the opposite direction.

"What was that all about?" Mikoto asked walking over to him.

"Just needed some info for class" he hadn't gotten any useful information, so there was no real need to worry her unnecessarily he thought.

"oh…uh..was he saying we weren't doing a very good job of hiding?"

"Yup…and he's probably right" Kamijou knew Tschimikaido was an actual spy for not just one but both the magic and science sides, so he knew what he was talking about. "Well let's just finish up here and head back…that'll probably be the safest"

"mmh" she nodded in agreement.

**-Seventh Mist – Nearby the Food Court-**

"W-well she isn't here either Shirai-san" Uiharu sighed. However it didn't matter, someone had seen her beloved one-sama so she had to have been nearby. Kuroko was teleporting back and forth, high and low hoping to spot Misaka Mikoto in the crowd, so far to no avail.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, Uiharu" Saten looked over at her exhausted friend "eh?!" she froze seeing a very familiar looking person a small distance away behind the panting Uiharu. "(h-hey Uiharu)" she nudged the girl a little and silently motioned for her to look behind her.

"wha?" Uiharu noticed her friends motions and tried her best to follow her eyes only to freeze in surprise suddenly.

"It is a boy!" "it is a boy!" they both said in unison sounding surprised, but covered their mouths right after before Shirai could hear them. This situation would certainly be troublesome for both of their friends from Tokiwadai, because what they saw was a certain Misaka Mikoto with her arm inter-locked with a certain unknown boy. "hmm…wait a minute, I think I've seen him before" Saten squinted her eyes a bit"…come on" without warning she grabbed her friend by the arm and started sneakily cutting through the crowd to get a closer look.

**-Seventh Mist – A little earlier- **

"_She says she has an idea and then runs off" _Kamijou sighed looking around for signs of the now missing Mikoto "_Well I know she went in this general direction…I'll just wait around here until she gets back" _the mall had gotten a little busier after lunch so there were a lot more people walking around, it would only be troublesome for him to move and end up getting lost he thought. Staying put was the best chance of them not getting separated. So he decided to check out some of the small stands nearby.

"Hey there son, anything in particular you're looking for today? I noticed you and your lady friend pass by earlier…maybe a nice necklace or something could put you in the good books eh?" the sales person winked.

"haha…I'm just browsing" Kamijou replied with a nervous chuckle and slight blush "_do we really look like a couple that much?!" _he looked down at some of the items the man had on display, however he found himself thinking about all the misunderstandings that happened during the day. "_I suppose when you think about it…even today was kind of like a date?" _Kamijou thought about it, they or more Misaka was hiding from this unknown threat so they were a bit tense but even so he wouldn't say the day was bad, they were even laughing and joking around not too long ago during lunch "_hmm.." _he may not have realized it but he was already slowly starting to see her in a different light, normally their interactions would involve her trying to get him to fight or her zapping him, he still wasn't sure why, but now that he had gotten to spend a day with her, he was actually enjoying her company. Kamijou was thinking about all of this when suddenly he spotted something that interrupted his train of thought.

"Found something you like?" the sales person asked, noticing Kamijou's expression change slightly.

"uh..well…actually how much is this?" Kamijou pointed out a small hairclip with a lightning bolt design on it.

"ah…that'd be 250" the salesperson picked it up for Kamijou to see "would you like it? I can wrap it and everything for you"

Kamijou looked at the hair clip, he was thinking of something to cheer her up earlier and when he saw it, it reminded him of her. "_hmm…I know she uses a hair clip sometimes…maybe she'll like this?" _without giving it another thought Kamijou paid for and collected it, not bothering to wrap it, he thanked the salesman with a slight bow and left. "I hope she doesn't think this is weird" he muttered looking down at the hair clip before putting it in his pocket "come to think of it, I bought her sister a necklace once so this should be fine" looking for something else to do Kamijou spotted the stand selling animal donuts and decided to join the line.

Shortly after Mikoto spotted him standing nearby the animal donut stand and jogged over to him "There you are…look look" she pulled out a baseball type hat with a Gekota design on it and put it on "This should help things a little right?"

Kamijou pulled the fork from his mouth, he had just purchased a tray of the donuts and had just taken the first one "(not for anyone that knows your tastes)" he responded while chewing and swallowing "that aside…don't just run off and leave people like that!"

"eh? Run off? I was right over there" she motioned to a store not far from where he was a few minutes ago "If anything you were the one that ran off" she retorted. "More importantly what do you have there?" she looked down at the animal donuts in his hand with a gleam in her eye.

"huh? Oh…here" he took the fork and picked one up offering it to her.

"huh?! W-w-wait" that caught her by surprise. That was his fork and she definitely saw him use it just now.

"huh?" Kamijou stood there with the donut on the fork, he looked at it then back at her "don't you want one?"

"i-it's not t-that idiot…that's your fork!" she was blushing a little now and obviously flustered.

"..well yea, I only bought for one person…oi it's not like I'm diseased or anything" he added deadpanned "if you don't want it then-"

"No!" "I-I want one" she mumbled. Mikoto brushed her bangs back and timidly opened her mouth to take the donut.

During this time Kamijou seemed to realize, belatedly, just what was happening and started blushing himself. He couldn't help it, no matter how you looked at it, he was just about feeding her, and anyone looking on would assume they were together. However there wasn't anything he could do now, she had already taken the bite. They both stood there awkwardly for a few seconds "s-_she doesn't seem to be freaking out...I p-probably shouldn't bring it up" _he looked down at the fork and decided to stick it into another of the chick looking donuts for now.

Mikoto looked up at him "_w-where did that come from all of a sudden…i-it's like we're..unless" _ a flashback of Tschimikaido's advice popped into her head "_s-so that's what he's doing" _she almost looked a little depressed "_i-if it's like that…then" _

"_I should probably say something quickly" _"s-so Misa-huh?"

Mikoto stepped over to him and locked her arm in his "s-shall w-we go" she asked timidly looking up at him.

"_uh…wha?_" Kamijou looked down at the girl currently holding onto his arm, much like a girlfriend out on a date with her boyfriend would, and he certainly wasn't expecting it. "_w-what's this all of a sudden?!" _he became very aware of her presence so close to him and now even he was a bit flustered, blushing a little "uh…Misaka?"

"Shut it!...I-I can do this much too" she stammered and there was noticeable blush on her face

"_What?_" He was even more confused right now but before he could inquire further, she began to move and being connected like this he had no choice but to follow, and with that they, somewhat awkwardly, walked off.

"_I wonder what he's thinking…despite everything…this isn't so bad" _they hadn't gone too far but Mikoto relaxed a bit now and even held onto his hand a little more, keeping her eyes straight ahead.

"_I wonder what she's thinking…" _he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She had relaxed a little and he even felt her grip tighten slightly. He still wasn't sure what had brought all of this on, but to be very honest he was ok with it, heck he liked it. Kamijou glanced down at her again thinking of something to say when he noticed it: a look of horror on Mikoto's face. Now it may have been the fairly pleasant and uneventful day, but for a moment Kamijou had forgotten his life was haunted by misfortune. This truth came rushing back to him immediately and he got a bad feeling that something was about to happen next. "(Misaka…what's wrong?!)" he frantically scanned the surrounding area, the first thing that came to his mind was the attacker_"…but wait…do we even know what they look like?"_

"(k-k-ku-kuroko)" Mikoto sounded like she had just seen a ghost; she had completely stopped in her tracks now and was staring straight ahead. Not more than 10 meters away Mikoto spotted her twin pig-tailed kohai, she had teleported to a stand above the crowd and she was obviously searching for something or rather someone in the crowd, it didn't take Mikoto long to guess who.

Before Kamijou could react he was tugged forcibly in the opposite direction. He hadn't quite heard what it was MIkoto had mumbled but something was up. They were now running as fast as they could through the crowded area in the opposite direction. "W-wait Misaka, what's going on?!"

"Shut up and run!" Mikoto wasn't sure if they were spotted but she wasn't about to risk it. It would be very difficult to outrun a teleporter. Mikoto cared deeply for her kohai however in this particular situation, it would've been beyond troublesome were they to bump into each other.

**-Seventh Mist – Nearby- **

After receiving word her beloved onee-sama was in the area Kuroko had wasted no time and began searching high and low, making full use of her teleporting abilities. She was currently on a stand above the crowd and was scanning the area for any sign of the railgun. So far there was no luck; she had even anticipated the girl may not be wearing her uniform; however she found no one matching the description. She was just about to move on to another spot when she noticed a disturbance in the crowd, looking closer she noticed the regular high school boy with black spiky hair, that was somehow always mixed up in something with Mikoto, making his way through the crowd rather quickly and he was being dragged by someone. Kuroko couldn't quite make out the other person however she noticed the person was wearing a Gekota baseball type hat, which automatically gave it away. There was no mistaking it that was her onee-sama. With no time wasted the chase began.

"wha?" Saten and Uiharu had made their way closer to the Misaka Kamijou pair but for some reason they turned and took off in the opposite direction. In the next moment out of thin air their friend appeared a little distance ahead of them and took off in the same direction. "Uh oh" Uiharu and Saten turned to each other and sighed.

**-Seventh Mist – A little later- **

Mikoto and Touma were panting with their backs to a wall. They had run non-stop and almost covered a half of the mall, but stopped to catch their breath when Mikoto decided they had made a good enough distance. During their run she was sure she heard the familiar sound of Kuroko teleporting behind them, however the crowded area more than likely made it a lot harder for the girl to use her powers properly. "Oi…Mi..saka…what…the hell…was that about?!" Kamijou looked up at her.

"Shut…shut up, she…might…hear you"

"Who?"

"(Kuroko!)"

"(what?! I thought you sent her a message?)"

"(I…)" she remembered the scene on the bus earlier "(…forgot)"

"Well what do we do?...should you really be running from her like this?" his tone was serious and he looked over at her again.

"It's not that simple" she looked back at him "you of all peo-"she was interrupted by the familiar sound of her friend teleporting nearby. "Crap!" Mikoto was the first to react, she grabbed Kamijou's wrist and dragged him again, giving almost enough time to grab his stuff and their bags, but as soon as they cleared the corner two pairs of hands grabbed them dragging them into a nearby store.

"What?!" "Huh?!" Kamijou and Mikoto were startled by the sudden change of direction and almost fell over.

"Shhh!" Saten stared at the two of them intently "Quiet down, Uiharu went to distract her" they could hear Uiharu giving Kuroko false directions somewhere nearby.

"wha-" Mikoto started but Saten raised her hand to interrupt her. Shortly after Uiharu returned letting them know they were safe for now.

"You have some explaining to do Misaka-san" Saten looked at her sternly.

Mikoto nodded "yes yes I know I-"

"Even if you want to get away to rendezvous with a guy, you don't have to disappear for a whole day and besides to be away for a whole day and a night!…even if its love there are some things that should wait" Saten scolded the girl while Uiharu stood next to her blushing but nodding in agreement.

"Eh?!...No! No no…it's not like that!"

"And you sir" Saten turned to Kamijou who was backing them trembling slightly "huh?"

"Such misfortune!" Kamijou cried out, he had missed everything the girl had said up to that point due to realizing: sometime during their escape the donuts he was carrying had slipped out of the tray.

"_Eh?!...wait! he's that guy from the Daihaseisai" "_uh..?" she looked a little startled from his sudden outburst.

"Oh…I'm sorry" he sighed with slight tears still in his eyes "I'm Kamijou Touma, nice to meet you both" he bowed politely to both girls "thank you for saving us"

"eh..no problem" "l-likewise" they responded returning the greeting. "an-anyway…like I was saying…Kamijou-san you can't-"

"No!...wait!" Mikoto interrupted "It-it isn't like that"

"Huh?" Kamijou looked at them puzzled.

"Uiharu-san, you received the mail I sent earlier right?" Mikoto turned to Uiharu

"Uh yes…however I wasn't able to find anything so far" Uiharu sounded a little disappointed.

"Message?" Saten looked between her friends

"Ugh…and you're even better than I am with the network" Mikoto sighed

"What are you two talking about?"

Mikoto turned to Saten "Well I asked Uiharu-san to check in on something…I didn't want to get you guys involved…I'm sorry but In short I'm in some trouble and this idiot here is helping me"

"It's always like this with you Misaka-san, we may not be strong, but you can count on us you know" Saten looked over at Kamijou "_furthermore just how strong is this guy for Misaka-san to actually go to him for help" _

Mikoto sighed "I know…it's just..things happened suddenly, I promise I'll explain everything later…even to Kuroko, but right now I need to hide until I can fix it…will you help me?"

Uiharu and Saten glanced at each other; they both noticed the seriousness in her voice and expression on her face. They trusted their friend so without much more thought they both turned to her and nodded. "Leave Shirai-san to us" Saten gave her a thumbs up.

"She will be back soon" Uiharu added "we should go Saten-san" she turned to Touma "I-It was nice meeting you Kamijou Touma-san" she bowed politely

"And take care of her right" Saten grinned and winked at the boy.

"Of course" he smiled. With that both girls left leaving Touma and Mikoto nearby the same store. "Those are some good friends you have there" he turned to Mikoto and she smiled and gave a nod. "Did you get everything? Cause I'm thinking we should probably get out of here now before anything else happens" he sighed.

"heh heh…yea lets go" they looked around carefully before making their way to the exit.

**-Nearby a certain vending machine – Sometime After-**

The sun was just about setting now and Mikoto and Touma were walking, in a most tired manner, by the vending machine they usually bumped into each other at "whew!...shopping with a girl is really tiring" Kamijou sighed sliding his free hand into his pocket _"huh?"_

"ha-ha very funny"Mikoto retorted. She didn't realize he had stopped walking and continued ahead

"Hey Misaka…" He played around with the item in his pocket a little "_why am I so nervous?"_

"huh?"she turned back to face him "what's wrong?"

"I…uh…well the thing is…I almost forgot…I got this for you" Kamijou was blushing slightly but he held out the hair clip and placed it in her hand "I saw it earlier and it reminded me of you…I guess" he scratched the back of his head nervously "I..I hope it's not weird or anything"

It was probably due to the glare of the setting sun but he couldn't see her expression quite clearly. Mikoto stood there staring at the hair clip in her hand; it wasn't anything big or expensive, it was a simple hair clip but Mikoto felt warm all over. She was blushing and didn't even care if he could see our not "I…"

"It isn't anything big…and if you don't like it I can return it"

She shook her head and immediately took off the hair clip she was using and replaced it with his "t-thank you" she mumbled not quite trusting her voice at the moment "I…I love it"she looked up at him smiling

"I'm glad" he smiled back "now shall we get going then?"

Kamijou started walking but Mikoto didn't move quite yet. She slid her hand into her pocket and held the two rings she had kept with her from Hawaii. She looked at him slowly walking away, "_how does he view me…"_ flashbacks of him saying he'll protect her and be there for her from the night before and of them on the bus, laughing during lunch, him feeding her, her holding his arm and him giving her the hair clip all played through her head. Deep down she knew she kept the ring because, despite her hopes, she wasn't sure how he viewed her. She may have even been afraid of finding out. However maybe, just maybe, despite all the misunderstandings, mixed signals and the fighting, maybe her feelings weren't so one-sided after all.

"Hey are you coming MIsaka?" Kamijou called back interrupting her thoughts

"yea" she whispered to herself and nodded jogging up to catch up with him.

**-A level 0's apartment elsewhere- **

*Knock*knock*Knock*

"Hamazura, someone's here"

"shh…ignore them they'll go away"

*Knock!*Knock!*Knock!*

"They aren't going away"

"Don't worry about it" he reached down and kissed the girl's cheek, then neck.

These two were Hamazura Shiage and Takitsubo Rikou and they were currently on the couch, or rather she was on the couch and he was over her, in the shared apartment of their group ITEM. Hamazura was your regular level 0 previously belonging to the infamous Skill-Out gang while Takitsubo was a level 4 with the potential to be a dangerous level 5 and they were currently enjoying themselves like any other couple finally getting some alone time would.

"We hardly get any time like this to ourselves" he sighed looking down at her. He had just finished unbuttoning her shirt when the insolent knocking began.

"Maybe it's important" she replied in her usual emotionless tone.

"ngh…they'll think no one is home and leave, if it's important they'll come back later"

*Knock*knock*

"HAMAZZUUURAA! In the first place I'm coming in nyahh!"

"Shit! I gave her a key" Hamazura was quick. If it was one thing he was thankful for in all his years as a member of Skill-Out and in ITEM was the quick reflexes he developed. He grabbed Takitsubo's shirt and threw it on her telling her to put it on quickly, he then rolled over the top of the couch grabbed the remote to put on the tv, threw the remote back on the couch and stood up to partially block his girlfriend as she put her shirt back on, finishing in record time just as the elementary school girl finished fiddling with the key and entered.

Her name was Fremea Seivelun "Nyah, Hamazura…in the first place you were doing naughty things with Takitsubo-nee-san weren't you?

"Huh?" "_Where the hell did she learn that kind of thing?" _ "No no! We were just looking at some tv, more importantly what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home by now? It's getting late"he looked over at a nearby clock.

"nyah I'll be fine, In the first place is Mugino-nee-san here? I have a letter for her"

"A letter?"

**-Kamijou's Dorm-**

"h-hey Touma" Mikoto was blushing slightly and playing with her fingers

"huh? What's wrong?"

"I-it seems I forgot to pick up pajamas…c-could I borrow your shirt again?"

"huh? Wait a minute! We were in there all day and yet you forgot pajamas?! Just what was I carrying around whole day anyway?"

"heh heh" she laughed nervously "oops"

* * *

**Author's Note: Here it is finally...chapter 3 (not so good with names so i decided to leave the chapters nameless). This chapter is out way past my personally set deadline unfortunately, mainly because I got stuck a few times along the way and work wasn't helping at all, however it is the longest one yet which i'm hoping helps. Like before I won't talk too much about it and prefer to hear what you think from your reviews (I really do look forward to them good or bad). Personally I'm still not 100% sure about this chapter but I hope you like it anyway. **

**Shout Out: I would like to give a shout out to jump84 who actually messaged to check up on the story, noticing I hadn't updated. Like I said I really appreciate it. As well as all those who take the time to leave reviews, favourite and even follow. It feels good knowing people are enjoying it.**

**Preview: (I'm not too good with these, but It's good having something to look forward to) Touma and Mikoto do some cooking. Also things should start to speed up from now...**


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